The Unthinkable
by goldistic
Summary: It was supposed to be a normal day for Matt and Gabby. They were supposed to help out at a charity event then go home. However, when a bomb goes off, they can't help but spring into action. But when another bomb goes off, their lives suddenly hang in the balance. Will Antonio be able to find the man who did this to his sister? Will Kelly be able to save his best friend? Please R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: After Wednesday's Chicago PD and that promo for the crossover event, I got this idea in my head but wasn't sure if I should go through with it. But when I read the press release for the Chicago Fire episode of the crossover, I decided to start this. Let me know what you think! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Outside of Chicago Med, Matt's POV:**

"So are you ready for me to kick your ass in this race?" Gabby asks me, smirking as she finishes tying her shoes. Today was the day we've been looking forward to for awhile. About a month and a half ago Gabby got asked if she could volunteer at a charity run for Chicago Med, and happily agreed. When she told me about it, I had also volunteered to help out the hospital. After all, I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for their surgeons.

The plan for today was that we would run the race, then help other people finish it as well. After that we would try to bond with some of the kids with disabilities, and let them know that they weren't alone in whatever they were fighting. I was excited, Gabby was excited, and today was going to be a great day.

"Babe, please, you have no idea what you're up against." I tell her, shaking my head as I return the smirk.

"Oh c'mon Matthew Casey, you're not fooling anybody." She says playfully, smiling as she pokes me in the chest.

"Oh, you just wait until I leave you in the dust." I tease, smiling as I playfully nudge her.

"The day you beat me in a race is the day I'm ninety and can hardly walk." She laughs, shaking her head.

"Oh yeah?" I chuckle, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and leading us further away from the hospital and closer to the starting line. "Well when you're ninety, that means I'll be ninety-three, so the only race we'll be having is to the fridge leaning on our walkers for support."

"Is that so?" She smiles, looking up at me as we walk. "And you think I'll still want to be with your lazy ass when we're that old?" She teases, her arm looping around my waist.

"Oh babe just admit it," I smile, looking down at her. "You can't stand to live without me, I'm irresistible."

"You just seem to be getting cockier and cockier as the days go by," She replies playfully, smiling as we reach the starting line.

"Not cocky," I correct her, smiling. "Just confident." I wink at her and she laughs at me, shaking her head as she moves herself out of my hold. I laugh softly to myself as we both start stretching ourselves out, thousands of people surrounding us doing the same.

"Attention, everybody, please get in your positions," A voice says coming over the bullhorn. "We'll be starting the race in a minute."

"I'll see you on the other side, Casey," Gabby says, winking at me as she gets in position to start the race.

"In your dreams, Dawson," I smile, shaking my head at her as I also get in position.

Then it happened. The unthinkable. A big blast sounds from behind us, and on instinct I duck and cover my head, making sure Gabby is alright in the progress. People start screaming and running, almost trampling over me. I reach for Gabby's hand and she meets me halfway, and together we stand up to see what happened.

"Oh my God," Gabby exclaims breathlessly, both of us observing the scene. The hospital, that once stood peacefully behind us, now had a noticeable chunk missing out of its side and had flames shooting out of its windows that still held their place. "Is this...is this what I think it is?"

"A bomb," I say, confirming her suspicions. I look at the scene of terror in shock, refusing to believe that this was actually happening.

"We have to go help those people," Gabby says, already making her way against the crowd and towards the hospital.

"Gabby, wait! There could be another bomb!" I shout after her, but she either doesn't hear me or ignores me all together. I sigh deeply to myself and run after her, soon closing the distance between us. We both stop when we reach the actual scene, and begin searching for a victim in critical shape.

"Over there," Gabby suddenly says, pointing towards a man screaming helplessly on the ground. We both run to help him, kneeling down once we reach his side.

"Help me, you gotta help me, my leg," the man pants, his hands gripping his right leg. Gabby looks down at his leg while I try to keep the man calm, assuring him he'd be okay.

"Hey man, what's your name?" I ask, scoping out any other possible injuries he might have.

"Who the hell cares?!" He snaps harshly, followed by an agonizing scream in pain. "Just help me!"

"Look man, I'm not asking you your name because I want to be best buddies, I'm checking your mental status, so tell me your name." I say calmly, pulling back his eyelids so I can check his pupils.

"Eric, my name is Eric." He says, a bit more calmly now. "How's my leg?"

I look over at Gabby, and she shakes her head a little at me, letting me know his leg has no chance of being saved. I sigh softly before looking at Eric again, holding his face in my hands so I know he's paying attention to me.

"Listen to me Eric, alright? You're going to be alright, we're going to get you out of here and you're going to be fine."

"Why should I believe you?" Eric says, his voice noticeable getting weaker. "You're just some stranger who came here to run a race."

"I'm a Lieutenant with the Chicago Fire Department and my girlfriend here is a paramedic, we've seen a lot of stuff like this before and a lot of guys injured just like you. You're going to fine, okay?" I assure him, looking back at Gabby who is trying to stop the bleeding in his leg using her jacket. I look around us, at the screaming people, collapsing hospital structure, the blood sprayed on the pavement and the dazed faces of bystanders in shock.

"Help, somebody help!" A woman screams, waving her arms as she hobbles out of the hospital.

"Babe, I'm going to go see what's wrong with her, you got him covered?" I ask Gabby, turning my attention back to her.

"Yeah, go," she says, nodding as she puts pressure on Eric's leg. "Just be careful, alright?"

"Always," I promise, nodding to her before standing up and running after the woman.

"What's the matter ma'am?" I ask the woman, putting my hands on her shoulders to try and steady her. She must have gotten caught in the explosion. Her clothes are torn, her red hair is a mess, her skin is covered in dirt, and she has several small lacerations, but other than that she's fine. She got lucky.

"My husband is trapped underneath a big slab of concrete and he can't move, please help him!" She exclaims, tears clearly visible in her eyes and panic obvious in her voice.

"Okay, just tell me where he is and I'll-"

I'm cut off by another blast. This one sends me flying backwards, and suddenly I'm not aware of anything surrounding me. My ears ring violently and my head pounds like crazy, and then I feel my back hit hard against the pavement with my head quickly following suit. My whole body hurts. I can barely think straight. And if I do happen to come across a clear thought, it's of Gabby. My brain isn't comprehending anything around me. I feel like I'm alone in a painfully bright room, my only company an annoying buzzing sound. And then everything goes black.

**Gabby's POV:**

The last thing I remember is talking to Eric, trying to slow his heart rate down so he would stop bleeding so heavily. Then another explosion sounded from directly behind me, and I was blown forward. My body made contact with the hard ground soon after, and I had tried to make sense of what just happened, but I couldn't. My arm killed, my ears buzzed, my head pounded, and my vision was going blurry.

I try to lift my head up, but it makes my neck hurt too bad so I quickly give that up. I lay face down on the pavement, trying to move my eyes around to see what was going on.

I could vaguely see people sprinting, some heading as far away as possible from the explosion and some running towards the chaos.

Either way, I wasn't entirely focused on them. I searched the scene for Matt, clinging onto the hope I'd find him in the midst of all of this. I had to make sure he was alright. He was heading towards the hospital when this happened, and this explosion must have come from inside it again.

He had to be okay, right?

I keep trying to assure myself of all of this, but when I feel myself getting light headed, I don't fight against it. I rest my head on the cold pavement and surrender myself towards the darkness.

**Firehouse 51, Shay's POV:**

"Hey Shay, where'd you say Dawson and Casey were today?" Herrmann wonders, sitting next to me at the table with a coffee mug in his hand.

"They're volunteering to help out at a charity run at Chicago Med," I tell him, keeping my eyes on the crossword puzzle I was determined to complete.

"Unbelievable," Herrmann mutters, shaking his head.

"What?" I ask, briefly looking up at him.

"Well damn, can those two get anymore perfect? Seriously, both of them are attractive, bad ass but with a good heart, great together, and now they're volunteering at hospitals? I just can't compete anymore." Herrmann sighs, shaking his head as he stands back up. I chuckle at him before returning my attention back to my crossword puzzle.

"Leslie Shay," A familiar voice says from the doorway, and I turn my head towards the person, a bright smile already on my face.

"Hey Raff," I greet, smiling as I get up to hug her. "You're Dawson's relief paramedic?"

"I sure am," she nods, hugging me back. "I hope that won't be a problem."

"No, not at all. I'm happy you're back." I say sincerely, my smile unmoving.

_"Truck eighty-one, Squad three, Ambulance sixty-one. Engine fifty-one, Battalion twenty-five, two bomb explosions at Chicago Med. Be aware, multiple casualties." _The PA system announces over the speakers.

My smile is instantly replaced by a look of worry, and I rush off to the ambulance, almost running into Kelly as I run around a corner.

"That's where Casey and Dawson are," He tells me, stating the obvious as I run with him towards the apparatus floor, Rafferty on our heels.

"I know," I say worriedly, sharing his look of panic. We were worried for our best friends. Our best friends, who were supposed to get engaged soon. They had their whole lives ahead of them, and if this ended that, I don't know what I would do.

Once we reach the apparatus floor, Kelly heads towards the Squad truck and I rush for the ambulance, quickly getting in and turning the lights on. Once we get moving, I can sense Rafferty's eyes on me.

"Hey," she says softly, her voice soothing. "I'm sure they're alright."

"Yeah, I hope so." I say, feeling my face drain of color.

**District 21, Antonio's POV:**

I lean back in my chair, observing the quiet room. I had just finished my paperwork for our last case about a big bank robbery, and instead of jumping out of here, I decide to relax for a couple of minutes. Across from me, Sumner was also doing her paperwork, scribbling down her words hurriedly on the paper. Next to me, Erin was reading something, probably her paperwork to make sure she had no errors. In the corner of the room, Ruzek and Olinsky both work on their computers. Before I'm able to turn my head towards Jay, the door of Voight's office opens and he walks out, taking a deep breath.

"There have been reports of two explosions at Chicago Med where a big charity run was taking place." He says, causing me to sit up in my chair. The others look up from their work, their interest peaked. Then it clicks in my mind. Gabby was there with Casey, volunteering.

"How bad?" I ask, standing up and swallowing nervously. I expected the worst.

"I don't know," Voight shrugs, sighing. "The guy on the phone just told me the scene is total chaos and there are multiple casualties. We need to go check it out, so let's go."

I could feel the color drain from my face. Multiple casualties, which had to mean there were several fatalities. Any of them could be my sister.

Everyone else starts scrambling, pulling their jackets on and putting their guns in their holsters. But I could only think of Gabby. If she was dead...I don't know what I would do.

"Something wrong, Dawson?" Voight asks, his raspy voice bringing me out my nightmare.

"Yeah…" I say unconvincingly, trailing off as I also get ready.

"Do you know somebody there?" Jay asks, looking over at me unsurely.

"Yeah, Gabby and Casey are there, volunteering." I say, swallowing once again as I pull my leather jacket on.

"I'm sure she's alright," Voight tells me, and I don't fail to notice how he leaves Casey's name out of his reassurance. If it were the other way around, I doubt Casey would care about Voight's well-being, either.

I just nod at him, and start my way downstairs with everybody else.

In the car on the way there, I stare out the window and let my worries for Gabby occupy my mind. I tap my foot nervously on the bottom of the car, taking deep breaths every once in awhile. Voight says nothing, knowing not to promise me anything if he's not certain of it.

"So are Casey and Gabby together now or something?" Voight wonders, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, they've been going out for awhile now." I answer, my eyes still focused on the window.

"Casey still hate me?" He asks, which makes me turn towards him.

"What do you think?" I ask, probably coming off a little more harsh than I meant it to.

"Look, I get what I did to him was wrong, but chances are, we'll probably start working with the Fire Department on this one and I need to know he and his men are able to trust me." Voight replies defensively, sighing.

"Talk to their Chief about it, not me." I mutter, staring out the windshield now.

The scene of chaos suddenly comes into view, and it feels like I'm in some sort of sick nightmare. Voight parks the car randomly, and we both get out. Screaming people littered the premises, flames roared out of the collapsing hospital, and the smell of blood filled the air.

"Now what?" I ask, observing the scene.

"Everybody except for Antonio, go around to some coherent victims and ask if they saw anything suspicious. Let's start there and we'll regroup once we're done. Antonio, ask around for your sister. Family is first. Now go." Voight tells all of us once we're all in earshot, and we all nod. Jay and Erin go together towards triage, Ruzek and Olinsky go towards the ambulances, and Voight and Sumner walk towards bystanders as I head straight into the chaos.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So this story was originally posted in the crossover section, but it wasn't getting a lot of traffic, so I moved it over here. Anyway, I'm glad you guys liked the first chapter so here is the second one. :)**

**Scene of bombings, Kelly's POV:**

I dig my phone out of my pocket and pull up Matt's contact, and with shaking hands I call him. We were on our way to what was left of Chicago Med, and as every second ticked by, my mind conjured up more scenarios of what could have happened to Matt and Gabby. Matt could be lying on the ground right now, screaming in pain because he was missing a leg. Gabby could be unconscious, seconds away from death.

I hold my phone up to my ear, desperate for actual answers so I could get the nightmares out of my head. It doesn't ring nor does it go straight to voicemail. His phone was out of service.

His phone was broken.

This does nothing other than bring my fears into reality.

When we get there, Tony isn't even finished with parking the squad truck before I've jumped out. I was desperate to find Matt, Gabby, either of them to make sure they were at least alive. And the hospital looked worse than I had ever imagined.

I run over to Boden as I put my helmet on, Capp, Clarke, Mills and Tony following suit. We meet Herrmann, who was filling in for Matt, and his guys as we reach Chief.

"Where do we start, Chief?" Herrmann asks just as Shay and Rafferty run over as well.

"Shay, Rafferty, go help out at triage." Boden starts, observing the scene of absolute chaos. "Kelly, take your guys and look for victims trapped inside the structure. It's unstable, so be careful. Herrmann, you and your men, look for victims on the ground that are easily accessible and bring them to triage."

"Got it, Chief," I nod, turning towards my men. "Let's fan out once we reach the structure, and be careful not to move any concrete or rock that doesn't need to be moved. If you see a trapped victim, call out and we'll get them out."

"Copy that, Lieutenant," Mills nods, before he turns around with the other guys and starts heading for what was now left of Chicago Med.

"Severide," Boden calls before I'm able to head towards the hospital with them.

"Yeah Chief?" I wonder, turning towards him again.

"Have you heard from Casey or Dawson?"

"No, I tried to call Casey but his phone isn't working." I tell him worriedly. He swallows before nodding.

"Alright, I'm going to go look around for them in triage. If I see either of them I'll get ahold of you through the radio." He says, his fears coming true as well.

"Alright, I'll do the same if I happen to see one of them."

"Severide," He says again before I'm able to turn around. I look at him, waiting for him to continue. "There's a very good chance that they're alright. They were probably at the starting line of the race when this happened. If that's the case, they were nowhere near these explosions."

I just nod at him, knowing he's only trying to calm my worries so I'm able to work well and with a clear head. He nods back at me, and I run towards the structure with my men. As I head towards the hospital, I keep an eye out for Casey and Dawson. If there was a chance I could find either of them in the midst of all of this, I would take it. They would do the same for me.

But unfortunately, I arrive at the structure with no luck of finding either of them. I take a deep breath before observing the scene before me. At the top of the building, that looked like it could collapse any minute, there were flames shooting out of its windows. A couple of Engine trucks were working on putting that out. The bottom half of the hospital was almost completely gone, blown apart by the explosions. It was a miracle the top half of the hospital still existed.

"Hey, Severide!," Somebody calls from behind me, and I turn to see who it is.

"Whaley?" I wonder as the man jogs over to me. Eric Whaley. Somebody I thought I'd probably never see again. "I thought you worked for Engine?"

"I got moved over to Squad a few months ago, I'm in charge of Squad six now." He explains, his eyes moving towards the building.

"Good for you," I tell him sincerely, following his gaze. "Now how about we get this party started?"

"Sounds good to me," He agrees, nodding before turning towards a group of fireman, probably his men. "Fan out," he tells them. "Be careful not to move anything if you don't have to. If you find somebody, call out, and be extremely cautious of a collapse."

His men do as they're told, and I also get in on the action.

"Fire Department, call out!" I shout, carefully maneuvering my way through the rubble and debris.

"Severide," Herrmann says over the radio. I bring it up to my ear, still searching for victims under the rock and concrete.

"What's up, Herrmann? Little busy here," I answer.

"I just found Casey," He replies, and I instantly freeze, waiting for him to continue. The other guys also stop what they're doing, even Whaley, who is now both worried and curious. "He was on the pavement a little ways away from the front of the hospital. He's unconscious and bleeding from both of his ears and nose. He has multiple scratches that I can see and some minor burns. He's alive, but I'll admit, he doesn't look good."

"Stay there Herrmann, I'm coming. I'll make sure he gets transported properly to the hospital." I tell him through the radio, carefully making my way out of the structure. "Whaley," I say, turning to Eric. "Do you mind looking after my men? I'll be back in a few."

"No problem," Eric says, shaking his head. "I got you covered, do what you gotta do."

"Thanks," I tell him, nodding before turning and jogging into the heat of the chaos again.

"Herrmann, where are you?" I wonder through the radio, my eyes scanning the crowd for him.

"I see you, I'm straight ahead from you." He answers back, and my eyes move forward, almost instantly spotting him. Next to him, I can see a limp body covered in dirt and ripped clothes, and I take a deep breath, knowing that the body belonged to my best friend.

I start jogging over, getting mentally prepared for the sight I was about to see. On my way over, I run straight into somebody, and I almost curse at them before I realize who it is.

"Antonio?" I question, getting my balance again as he does the same.

"Severide?" He wonders back, studying me. "Have-have you seen my sister? I've been looking for her all over and I'm getting worried. I tried to call her but her phone must be broken or something...and, I just don't know what to do.."

"Hey, listen to me, alright?" I tell him, placing my hands on his shoulders to steady him. "We just found Casey, so Gabby could be nearby. Come with me and you can look for her over there, alright?"

"Yeah," He says, agreeing after a few seconds. It was almost unbelievable to see Antonio without his tough exterior. He was usually calm, cool, and collected, but now that Gabby is in danger and nobody knows how she is, he was a mess. It makes me think back to when Katie was missing, and I know how Antonio must be feeling right now.

Together, we jog over to where Herrmann was waiting, and I look down at Casey. grimacing at the sight of my best friend like this. It was like the apartment fire all over again, except this time, his head is already compromised.

"Chief, Herrmann found Casey," I say over the radio. "He's alive but barely, it looks like he banged his head again. Who knows how much time we have left."

"Copy that Severide," Chief answers. "I'll have Rafferty come over and put him on a backboard while Shay gets the ambo ready. Any sign of Dawson?"

I look around, hoping to see Gabby somewhere, but no luck. Antonio had already gone back to looking around for her, asking strangers if they'd seen anybody who looks like her and looking at the faces of other victims.

"No, Chief, Dawson is still nowhere to be found," I finally answer back, sighing deeply before kneeling down next to Matt.

"Alright, well let's get Casey to the hospital." He says. I look down at my best friend, and get a glimpse of him in my memory after the apartment fire that almost took his life. He was laying down, much like this, with blood caked on the side of his face and his body limp.

"Come on, Matt," I murmur to myself, forcing my tears to stay back. "Get through this, just like you did a few months ago." He says nothing back, as expected. His face was pale, his ears had blood coming from them, and underneath his nose there was more blood. His clothes were ripped, and if he was wearing a hat before, he's not wearing one now. Scratches covered his skin, along with some minor burns, and he probably had some hidden bruises as well. I would roll him over to check for other injuries, but he could possibly have a spinal injury, so I decide not to risk it.

I lift my head up to see Herrmann also kneeling down, looking at Casey's body worriedly. Around us, the chaos didn't stop or simmer down. People still ran wildly, trying to help victims, flee the scene, or find their loved ones. The officers who were here obviously didn't have control over the crowd.

Blood was everywhere.

You could smell it in the air and it covered the pavement. Matt had some blood on his clothes and I wasn't even sure if it belonged to him.

Pools of blood were around certain victims who had a big gash or were missing a limb or two.

To make a long story short, the scene was heartbreaking. A person should not have to go through or see something like this in their lives. Nobody deserved this. Nobody.

I suddenly see Rafferty come up behind Herrmann with a backboard and medkit. "Sorry I took so long," she explains, kneeling down and opening the medkit. "It took me forever to find you guys."

"It's okay, just tell me what I can do to help." I say, knowing that Matt's life depended on getting him to the hospital quickly.

"Put this C-collar on him," she tells me, handing me the neck brace. I take my gloves off and carefully wrap the brace around Matt's neck, making sure it's secure. Meanwhile, Rafferty holds gauze over some of the more serious cuts that Casey had, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Hey!" Somebody screams, pushing Rafferty off of Matt. "Why are you working on him? Why don't you work on my girlfriend who is missing an arm?!" Rafferty loses her balance and her back hits the pavement, but she quickly recovers and looks straight up at the fairly heavy man.

"Look, what you need to be doing for your girlfriend is bringing her to triage, got it?" Rafferty says sternly, not moving her gaze off of the man for one second. "This guy right here needs to go to a hospital because he is more than likely suffering from an internal brain bleed. Triage can't help him, but they can probably help your girlfriend and get her into an ambulance as soon as possible, you understand me?"

The man says nothing, just looks at Rafferty like he's about to lay her out.

"Bring me to your girl, I'll help her," Herrmann says calmly, standing up and taking the man away.

"Thanks Herrmann," Rafferty says, sighing deeply before looking at Casey again. "Help me put him on the backboard?" She asks me, and I nod.

"You said he's probably suffering from an internal brain bleed," I comment as I help her lift Matt onto the backboard. "Do you really think that or were you just saying that?" Together we lift the backboard, and walk quickly through the crowd and towards the ambo.

"With what happened to him a few months ago, it's very likely." She says, sighing. "And the blood coming out of his ears and nose is definitely not a good sign. He needs to go to the hospital right now. And if I'm being completely honest with you, it might already be too late."

I swallow, my nightmare becoming even more real.

Could Casey really die because of this? Could this really be it? Could I have shared the last laugh with my best friend?

"He was going to ask Gabby to marry him," I blurt out, not really knowing why I said it. It just added onto the pain. And the fact that we don't even know how Dawson is just broke my heart a little more.

They could both be gone forever, in just a matter of minutes.

It felt like I was in some sort of sick, neverending dream.

Rafferty turns her head towards me as we arrive at the ambulance, Shay quickly opening the doors. "I hope he'll still get the chance," she says sincerely, giving me a sad nod. I help her lift Casey and the backboard onto the gurney in the ambulance, knowing that this image of Casey, bloody and battered, might be the last I ever get.

"Hey," Shay says to me, shutting the doors behind Rafferty and Casey.

That was it. I could no longer see my best friend. And I may never get to see him again.

The realization hits me hard. I sniff back my tears and force myself to look at Shay.

"He's going to be alright, just like he was last time. I'll call you if anything changes on the way there but once we drop him off we'll probably have to come right back here."

"Just make sure his sister and his mom know what's going on, alright? I have to get back to work." I gently clap her shoulder before turning away and jogging back towards the hospital.

I needed to get my mind off of Matt. I needed to do my job and help other people, because right now, there's nothing I can do for Matt.

**A/N: So Casey has been found...but will he be alright? Next chapter focuses on Dawson's rescue, and the chapter after that will focus on their recovery. Thank you for reading, I hope you guys are liking it so far! If you want to see anything specific happen in this story, tell me in your reviews and I'll consider it.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The newest Chicago Fire was amazing. And by amazing, I mean crazy emotional with brilliant acting. I enjoyed every single second of it and I am wicked excited for the crossover event in a couple of weeks. Anyway, here's the third chapter of this story and I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so far. :) Oh and by the way, I have some knowledge about medical stuff from a few EMT apps on my phone, but I am by no means an expert, so sorry if I made any mistakes and feel free to bring them to my attention. **

**Cerebrospinal fluid: Clear liquid that floats in between the brain and skull.**

**Epidural hematoma: When blood accumulates between the skull and the thick membrane covering the brain.**

**Flat bags: Inserted under heavy objects and inflated with an air pump to lift the object.**

**Cribbing blocks: Rigid rectangular materials used to support a load as it is being lifted, moved, or leveled.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**Lakeshore, Shay's POV:**

I get the ambulance parked in the drop-off spot at Lakeshore, and jump out. I quickly make my way to the back of the rig and pull open the doors, Rafferty coming out with the gurney seconds later. "Anything happen on the way here?" I ask, helping her push Matt inside the hospital.

"Cerebrospinal fluid started to come from his ears but other than that, his pulse remained weak and his heart rate is still slow." She answers as a group of nurses meet us once we're inside the hospital.

"What do we got?" One of them asks, looking up at Rafferty and I.

"Matthew Casey, thirty-one years old, has blood coming out of his nose and ears as well as cerebrospinal fluid. His pupils aren't responding to light and has irregular breathing. He had an epidural hematoma a few months ago." Rafferty tells them as they continue to push Matt's gurney down the hallway and towards the OR.

"Alright, thanks." The nurse says, and Rafferty and I both stop when we can't go any further.

"I'll fill out the paperwork," Rafferty tells me, sighing a little as she heads towards the desk in the center of the room. I nod and follow her, spotting Kendra behind a computer.

"Hey Kendra, do you mind giving me a call when there's news on Matthew Casey's condition?" I ask, giving her a pleading look.

"I'll try my best, but we're really busy here," She answers, briefly glancing up at me.

"Yeah I understand, thanks," I tell her, nodding.

"Alright, we're ready to roll," Rafferty says finishing off the paperwork and heading back towards the ambulance. I follow her out, grabbing a new backboard and gurney on the way. I put them in the back of the rig before jumping in the driver's seat and heading back towards the chaos.

**Scene of bombings, Kelly's POV:**

"I found somebody!" Mills shouts, and I turn towards the sound of his voice. He's about fifty feet away from me, peering into a small pile of concrete and brick. I jog towards him, and he moves so I can get a good look at the victim. I take my glove off and reach my hand under a slab of rock the man was under, and check his pulse.

Nothing.

"He's DOA," I mutter, pulling my arm back out and putting my glove back on.

"Are you sure, Lieutenant?" Mills asks, looking at me unsurely.

"Yes, Mills, I'm sure," I say tiredly, really not in the mood for his questioning behavior.

"Well we still have to get him out there." He replies matter-of-factly.

"We look for alive victims first, Mills, because every minute we spend rescuing somebody who's already dead we're putting somebody elses life in more danger. Their life is the one on the line. We get everybody alive out first, then we work on the deceased. Got it?" I may have been a bit harsh and blunt, but Mills is still new to Squad, and he needs tough love.

Then again, I also thought Jones needed tough love, and I was definitely wrong about that. I sigh softly to myself, knowing I couldn't blame Jones' suicide on myself. I didn't know where her head was at and I definitely had no clue she would do what she did.

"Got it, Lieutenant." Mills says, nodding before he continues searching, while I walk back over to where I was before.

Whaley walks over and searches next to me, and I take the opportunity to make small talk. It may not be the best place, but I needed something to get my mind off of the situation. Off of Matt, off of Gabby, of off Jones, off of everything that was happening.

"How's Renee?" I ask, briefly glancing up at him before continuing to look through the piles of rubble.

"She's doing great." He answers, somewhat surprised by my question given the circumstances. "She's got a good job, found a great guy, and even got a dog."

"That's good," I say sincerely, nodding. "I'm happy for her."

"Yeah, well, you're the one to thank for that. If it weren't for you, she'd still be working at the strip club and depressed out of her mind."

"She would have done the same for me if the roles were reversed," I shrug, looking through a pile of concrete.

"All the same, thank you." He says, continuing to carefully make his way around the debris.

I'm about to answer him, but the light from my flashlight lands on a figure. I look closer, and make out a man's hand. I take my glove off and reach through the rubble, searching for the vein in his wrist since I couldn't reach his neck. His pulse was weak, but it was there.

"I found someone," I announce, looking up at my men as I put my glove back on. "Mills and Tony, go get a couple of flat bags so we can lift this concrete. Clarke and Capp, go get a couple of cribbing blocks so we can stabilize this and we don't risk collapse."

"On it," Capp says, and I watch as the four of them carefully make their way out of the structure.

"Need my guys to help with anything?" Whaley wonders, looking over at me from across the pile of rubble.

"Nah I think we've got it handled," I answer him, shaking my head. "But thanks."

"No problem, just let me know if you need our help." I nod in response, looking at the man underneath the concrete again.

"Hey man, can you hear me?" I ask, not surprised when I don't get an answer. I take off my glove and reach for his wrist again, noting that his pulse is getting weaker. "Hey Shay, you back yet?" I ask through the radio, pulling out my arm again.

"We just got back Kelly, what's up?" She answers back.

"We need you and Rafferty in the hospital. I've got an unconscious man with a weak pulse."

"On our way, what else do you see?," Rafferty's voice comes crackling over the radio.

"Not much," I answer her, trying to get a better look at the man. "The majority of his body is underneath concrete, I can only see his left arm and part of his head."

"Alright, we'll be right there," Rafferty replies just as Capp and Clarke come jogging back into the structure with the cribbing blocks in hand and Mills and Tony right behind them.

"Okay, hand me the cribbing blocks," I tell them once they make it to me. Capp and Clarke hand their blocks to me and I carefully slide them underneath the slab of concrete to support it. "Alright, flat bags." Mills hands me his flat bag and I ever so cautiously slide it next to a cribbing block, putting its remote aside for now. I hold out my hand for Tony's flat bag and he gives it to me, and I repeat my earlier action but on the other side of the man. I make sure everything is secure before pushing the button on each remote, watching as the flat bags fill with air and lift the slab of concrete. I hear Rafferty and Shay come in behind me, waiting with a backboard and a medkit for the man to come out. "Clarke, help me slide him out." I say, and almost instantly he kneels down beside me. I grab the man's left arm and Clarke grabs his right, and we slowly and carefully pull him out from under the rubble. Rafferty and Shay put down their backboard, and Mills and Tony grab the man's legs to help lift him onto it.

Now that he wasn't underneath the rock, the man was now clearly visible. He had a laceration on the side of his head and noticeable bruises on his exposed arms and legs. His clothes were torn and caked with dirt and he was missing a shoe. Rafferty and Shay begin to assess him, and the guys and I get out of their way.

"Look at his skin," Shay points out as she checks his heart rate.

"It's bluish...how does his heart sound?" Rafferty asks, looking up at Shay.

"Rapid." Shay says worriedly, putting her stethoscope back in the medkit.

"He has a collapsed lung," Rafferty states, reaching in the medkit for a needle. She sticks the needle in the man's skin where the lung would be, and begins to extract the extra air from it. "How's his heart now?"

Shay gets the stethoscope again and puts it on before listening closely to his heart. "It's going back to normal," Shay says, nodding.

"Alright, let's get him to triage," Rafferty says, and they pack up the medkit before picking up the backboard and starting towards triage.

"Good work guys," I say, turning to Clarke, Capp, Tony, and Mills. "Let's start searching again."

**Scene of bombings, Antonio's POV:**

I continue to scramble around in the chaos, searching for my sister. I get out my phone again and call her, still clinging onto the chance that she's fine and didn't get caught in the explosions.

It does the same as it did last time, it goes straight to the network provider's voice saying that this phone is not in service. I curse under my breath and put my phone back, my eyes scanning the scene once again. I then spot Burgess and Atwater near by, trying to calm down the crowd. I jog over to them, putting my hand on Burgess' shoulder to get her attention.

"Burgess, have you seen my sister?" I ask her hurriedly. She turns her head towards me and shakes her head sadly, and I can tell that the chaos surrounding us is starting to tire her. "Alright, if you happen to find her, can you let me know?"

"Yeah, sure, you got it Antonio," She answers, turning her attention back to the stampede of people.

I jog over to Atwater, who is trying to calm a hysterically crying man. "Hey, John, listen to me man, you have got to calm down, check triage again for your daughter, alright? She could be there by now," Atwater tells the man, John, who then nods before running off to triage.

"Hey Atwater," I say, getting his attention. "Have you seen Gabby anywhere?" He turns towards me and shakes his head, and I notice that he too is trying his best to stay as alert as possible.

"Sorry man, but I'll keep an eye out," he promises, and I nod.

"Thanks," I tell him before continuing my search for her.

While I was glad that Casey was found, it only fueled my worries. If Casey was caught in at least one of the bombs, that probably means Gabby was as well. And the fact that Casey didn't look too well, meant that Gabby couldn't be much better wherever the hell she was.

I then spot a limp body laying face down on the ground about twenty feet away from me, and it looked a hell of a lot like Gabby. I sprint towards the body, and look at the person's face.

It was indeed Gabby.

"Oh my God Gabs…" I trail off, horrified by the sight in front of me. Blood was caked on the side of her head, her arm looked badly torn up, and many other lacerations covered her skin. I carefully turn her over, and notice that her chin is bleeding uncontrollably. I take out my phone and call Voight, my fingers shaking as I dial his number. He answers on the second ring.

"Did you find her Antonio?" He asks, his raspy voice a bit more raspier for some reason.

"Yeah, I found her, she doesn't look good." I tell him, swallowing. "I'm about seventy yards away from the left side of the hospital, I need paramedics over here now."

"You got it, hang tight, we'll be right there." He hangs up before I'm able to, and I shove my phone back in my pocket. I check Gabby's pulse, and let out a sigh of relief when I find it strong. I take off my jacket and ignore the cold as I wrap it around Gabby's arm, trying to stop the bleeding as best as I can.

As each second ticks by, the more I want to pick her up in my arms and bring her to the hospital myself. But I know if I did, I'd be risking way too many things. If she has a spinal or neck injury, I could worsen it. If she has a bone fracture I'm unaware of, I could also worsen that. And the last thing I wanted to do right now was worsen her condition.

I look around the scene, and let out another sigh of relief when I see Voight and Sumner jog over with two paramedics close behind. "That was fast," I comment, looking up at Voight as the paramedics start to assess my sister.

"That's my style," Voight answers, looking smug as he watches Gabby get taken care of.

"Her pulse is good, heart rate is normal, let's bring her to triage." One of the paramedics says, and I look over at him and shake my head.

"No way, bring her to the hospital." I say sternly.

"Sir, there are victims in worse condition that need to go to the hospital," He answers, putting a C-collar on Gabby.

"Look at her arm," I tell him, taking my jacket off of it to show him real quick. "She could lose it for good if we don't properly transport her to the hospital."

"I'm sorry sir, but it's against protocol." He argues, and I'm anything but surprised when Voight makes a threat.

"Chicago PD," he begins, taking out his badge and showing it to the paramedic. "You might wanna get this girl to the hospital before I do something I may or may not regret afterwards."

"Yeah, ok," the paramedic snorts sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"You know," Voight continues. "I could arrest you right here and just say I caught you trying to make the patient's condition worse instead of better."

"And you think my partner would back you up on that?" The paramedic counters, gesturing to his partner, who seemed very timid.

"Just do what he says, Tom, it's no big deal." She mutters, keeping her head down as she checks Gabby's pupils.

"Are you serious right now?" Tom asks her incredulously, his expression one full of shock and anger.

"Look, I know him. He's a dirty cop and he does whatever he has to do in order to get things to go his way. Just listen to him and let's transport the girl." She tells him more sternly, finally lifting her head to look at him. I don't recognize her, but it's obvious that she has had a run-in with Voight by the way she's trying to avoid his presence.

"Fine," Tom snaps reluctantly, packing up his medkit and looking up at Voight. "I hope you're happy, asshole."

"Couldn't be happier," Voight muses, chuckling to himself as Sumner gives him an uneasy glare. The two paramedics stand up with Gabby on the backboard and start making their way through the chaos and to their ambulance.

"Thanks," I tell Voight, clapping his shoulder before jogging after the paramedics. "Call me if you need me," I add before turning back around, sticking close to Gabby and grabbing her good hand.

"She's going to be alright, right?" I ask the paramedics, looking at them nervously.

"She should be fine," the woman answers me, nodding. "From the looks of it, she needs stitches in a couple of places, she more than likely has a concussion, and she'll probably need surgery on her arm. But there's no reason why she shouldn't make it."

"Do you think they can save her arm?" I ask after breathing a small sigh of relief. Gabby was going to be alright. That's the news I've been waiting for so desperately.

"To be honest, I'm not sure," she replies, sighing as she and her partner lift Gabby onto the gurney inside the ambulance. She stays in while Tom jumps out, and I also climb in the back to be with Gabby.

I nod, swallowing hard as I take her hand again. If I know Gabby as well as I think I do, I know she'll be an emotional wreck if she loses her arm. And the only person that can calm her down completely is Matt, so if his condition is as bad as I think it is, her emotions will be even worse.

"What's her name?" The paramedic asks me, and I feel the ambulance start to move and hear the sirens begin to blare.

"Gabriela Dawson," I tell her, and watch as she inserts an IV into Gabby's good arm. "And I'm her brother, Antonio Dawson."

"Got it," she nods, finishing the IV. "Does she have any other family members we can contact for you?"

"I can give my mom a call while she's in surgery," I answer, my eyes still trained on the sight of my sister, looking so fragile and broken.

"What about a boyfriend or husband?"

"Her boyfriend is already in the hospital." I say softly. "He was brought in about a half hour ago with bad head trauma from the blast."

"Oh, well I wish the both of them a quick recovery," she replies sincerely, giving me a look of sympathy.

"Thanks," I mutter, looking up once I feel the ambulance stop. Seconds later, Tom opens the back door of the rig and helps the other paramedic push the gurney and IV out. I follow close behind them, trying to keep Gabby in sight. Once a group of nurses take over, they push the gurney down the hallway and towards the OR where I can no longer follow.

I sigh heavily as I watch them go, and realize that tears were beginning to pool in my eyes. The fear of not knowing what would happen to my sister was powerful and overbearing. I wanted to stand in the corner of the OR room and watch her get operated on just so I would know she would be alright. She's stuck her neck out for me too many times, and I wish there was more that I could do for her in return.

But of course, there was more I could do. I could go back to the bombsite and work with the team to track down whatever asshole did this. I could follow Voight's way of doing things and track him down faster and more efficiently. I could break rules just so I could know who did this to my sister. And that's what I would do. That's what Gabby would do for me, and that's what she's already done for me in the past.

I jog over to the nurses' station and lean over the counter to get a woman's attention. "Can I help you, sir?" She asks, looking up from her computer.

"Yes, could you call me when news of Gabriela Dawson's condition comes in?" I ask as I write down my number on a scrap piece of paper. I hand it to her and she nods as she puts the number in front of the computer screen.

"Yup, anything else I can help you with?"

"Um, yeah, is there any news on Matthew Casey?" I ask, swallowing nervously.

She shuffles through some papers and notes before looking back up at me. "Matthew Casey was officially declared in a coma ten minutes ago by the doctors and nurses who were treating him."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry this update took awhile, I've been pretty busy and I should also be updating "Not Like This" sometime this week, hopefully. I hope you guys like this chapter, and once again, I'm not a medical expert so if I make any mistakes please bring them to my attention. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Lakeshore Hospital, six hours later, Kelly's POV:**

We sit in silence. All of us are thinking about Matt, about Gabby, about the terrorist attack that rocked our city today. We finished our job about a half hour ago, and left it to the police to figure out the rest.

Three hours after we had arrived at Chicago Med, Chief called off the search in what was left of the structure. One of Eric Whaley's men almost caused a collapse, so he decided we better get out of there, for our own sake. Eric's men kept searching, and about an hour later, a part of the hospital collapsed on them.

Other squad teams dug the men out without causing a secondary collapse, and amazingly, within a half hour all of them were discovered.

Two of them were found dead, the rest critically injured. Eric was in surgery right now, along with three of his men. Another one of his men was rushed to the emergency room, where they stabilized him and he now sat in the Intensive Care Unit with his family at his bedside.

Of the two that died, one was killed instantly in the collapse when his head was hit hard by a large slab of concrete. The other man was pronounced dead in the ambulance on his way to the hospital.

After the collapse, the hospital seemed much more stable, so we resumed our search and were able to pull out a couple of other alive victims before retrieving the deceased. After Truck companies got everybody to triage, they helped the police with crowd control before jumping in to also help Squad companies.

Long story short, all of us were tired. Our muscles ached, our throats were dry from yelling and lack of water, and our minds were full of worry for the ones on the other side of the OR doors. Especially Gabby and Eric. From what I've heard, Gabby's arm is in tough shape and she lost a lot of blood. We're expecting news on her condition any second now. Eric has head and leg trauma, but that's all we know. He'll probably be in surgery for awhile yet. Even though the guys didn't know Eric very well, not as well as I know him at least, they were still worried. He once was a member of our house, even if it was always temporary. He served next to us, and that meant he was a brother.

I saw Renee for the briefest of moments, about twenty minutes ago. We were both at the vending machine, each of us getting a bottle of water. We made awkward small talk and I told her Eric is a fighter and that he'll get through this before we went back to our respective waiting rooms.

When the guys and I first got back to the hospital, the doctors told us about Matt. His condition was as bad as we had guessed. His head had suffered another traumatic blow, and after a CT scan, doctors had found more bleeding. Luckily the bleed was less than three centimeters, so surgery was not needed. Instead, they gave him medication to lower blood pressure and relieve swelling. Because of his epidural hematoma a few months ago, and the fact that his skull was forever compromised by that trauma, his brain couldn't handle this "extra" amount of trauma and he fell into a coma. And until he wakes up from it, we won't know how bad his condition actually is.

I refuse to say _if_ he wakes up from his coma, even though the doctors warned us that he might never open his eyes again. I simply refused to believe that Matt will never wake up. Last time the doctors warned us that he might not pull through, but he did anyway. He'll do the same again this time. I was sure of it.

Currently, Matt was being closely monitored. His brain was being monitored for increased pressure, which would mean a bigger bleed was forming. We weren't allowed to see him at the moment, because it was too early in the stages of his coma and the Doctor's checked on him every five minutes for any changes.

I look around the room at everybody. The whole crew was here, their faces worn and their bodies looking limp with exhaustion. Some bowed their head in chairs, others stood up to make sure they didn't fall asleep. Shay was on my right, picking at her fingernails worriedly. Chief was on my left, staring straight ahead with watery eyes, but refusing to look weak in front of his men.

Herrmann stood against the wall, looking at his feet and rubbing his forehead, obviously in deep thought. Cruz sat down in a chair next to him, praying. Mouch was across from me, his head leaning against the back of the wall and his eyes trained on the ceiling. Otis and Mills sit on either side of him, both staring straight ahead. Rafferty sits on the other side of Shay, rubbing her shoulder assuringly. Clarke leans against the wall next to Herrmann, his tired hands rubbing his aging face. Capp enters the room with a Gatorade, and sighs heavily before sitting in his sit next to Chief.

"Did you hear anything while you were up, Capp?" Herrmann asks tiredly, desperate for any answers.

"Sorry guys, nothing," Capp says just as tiredly, shaking his head.

I lean forward in my chair and rest my elbows on my knees, my head in my hands. I needed somebody to tell me that the bombs weren't a terrorist attack but a freak accident, Gabby's arm would be alright, that Eric would live, and that Matt awoke from his coma and is as good as new.

But life doesn't work like that. It isn't that generous or fair. Instead, it gives you a slap in the face and forces you to keep moving on. The bombs were most likely a terrorist attack, Gabby's arm has a slim chance of being saved, Eric might not come out of this alive, and Matt may never wake up.

Those were the facts, and even though they were hard to accept, they weren't going to change unless I wake up and this was all a dream.

Footsteps coming into the room are what force me to look up. A surgeon who looks just as tired as all of us, takes a deep breath before speaking. "Are you all here for Gabriela Dawson?"

"Yes we are," Chief answers, standing up and everybody else doing the same.

"Miss Dawson had a severe brachial plexus injury in her left arm, which means she damaged the nerves of her plexus," the surgeon says, crossing his hands at his waist. "She probably got it from both the impact of the blast, and also the impact of hitting the pavement. We were able to save her limb, that was actually not much of a concern once we realized she busted up her brachial plexus. We tried our best to fix her nerves, but until she wakes up, which should be in about a half hour, we'll be able to find out how bad she actually injured herself. We'll test her motor functions, and after that, rehab and therapy are most likely the way we'll take this recovery. Some brachial plexus injury patients can have little movement in their fingers, but complete movement in their elbow and shoulder. Other patients can have little or no movement in their elbow and shoulder, but complete movement in their shoulder. And in rare cases, patients can have little or no movement everywhere on their arm. Therapy will help loosen and stretch the muscles in her arm, and the exercise in rehab will help her retain her range of motion. Rehab might be a bit down the road though, since she also suffered severe external injuries in her arm. She lost a lot of blood, so we set up a transfusion. She has quite a few stitches, especially on her arm, so we'll have to take them out before she does rehab. We also diagnosed her with a moderate concussion, so we'll have to monitor that for the next few days. We took an MRI of her neck and spine, and found even more injuries. In her neck, it looks like she sprained a joint, tore a muscle, and we found a bulging disc. Therapy looks like the best way to go for that, and she should heal from it in about four months. Her arm may take up to six months to heal completely, but it's hard to tell right now."

Everybody in the room lets out a collective sigh of relief. Gabby was going to be alright. She'll wake up soon, and she'll get better. Now we just need Matt and Eric to do the same.

"Thank you, doctor," Boden says, offering a small smile to the man.

"You're very welcome, and thank you guys for helping out this city the way you do."

"We're happy to do it," Boden replies, nodding. The surgeon smiles and walks away, off to another patient. Boden turns to me and claps my shoulder, and I look up at him, a relieved expression on my face.

"Call Antonio and tell him the news, I'll go ask for some more information on Matt and ask when we can see Gabby," he says, and I nod, already digging out my phone. He nods once before turning towards the nurse's desk in the hallway, walking over. I look around the room, happy to see some lifted spirits before I dial Antonio's number.

"Dawson," he answers, his voice scratchy and tired.

"Hey Antonio, it's Kelly. I know you're busy right now, but we just got news on Gabby and from the sounds of it, she's going to be just fine. They saved her arm but found a brachial plexus injury, and she has a few neck injuries but with therapy and rehab she'll heal perfectly. They have her on blood transfusions and the anesthesia hasn't worn off yet, but in at least a half hour we'll be able to see her."

"That's great, I'll be down there as soon as I can, thanks for the call, Kelly," he says, and I don't fail to notice how relieved he sounded. "I'm guessing you guys have heard about Casey?"

"Yeah," I say softly, looking down. "We found out when we first got here. How did you know?"

"When I brought Gabby in, they told me. I was going to tell you guys, but I didn't want to distract you from your job. Is there anymore news on him?"

"Just that we can't see him for awhile yet, he's practically being hovered over by the doctors," I say, sighing deeply.

"Well I guess that's better than them not giving a damn," Antonio says, and I can hear a car start in the background.

"That's for sure. Have you guys gotten anywhere with the case?"

"Back at the scene, a couple of witnesses told us that one man looked very strange. He was out of place and had a dark backpack on. That's all we've got though. We're still digging and have a lot to look through yet. I'm on my way, we'll talk more when I get there."

"Alright, sounds good man. See you in a few," I say, hanging up and putting my phone away. I sigh again, running my hands through my hair.

Gabby is okay. She's alive, her arm is still attached, and she'll recover. Physically, she's fine. But once she wakes up and finds out about Matt, her emotions will be a whole different story.

**A/N: Sorry this is short and kind of uneventful! It's more of a fill-in chapter, and I promise the next one will be better. :) On another note, I'm wicked excited for the crossover, and I can't wait! Tomorrow is going to be a long day.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I just want to say thank you to everybody who has reviewed, followed, and/or favorited this story! I'm glad you guys are liking this, and sorry that this chapter took a little while to put up. I hope you enjoy it. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Lakeshore Hospital, Gabby's POV:**

Everything hurt. My head, my neck, my arm, my back...every part of my body was in some kind of pain. And as I slowly open my eyes, I suddenly remember what happened. The first explosion...the screams….Matt… and then the second explosion. I try to lift my head, but a sharp pain suddenly runs through my neck. A small cry of pain escapes my lips as I lower my head back down, and at the same instant Antonio is at my side, taking my hand in his and gently squeezing it.

"Hey Gabs, how ya feeling?" He asks, looking at me worriedly. I work on catching my breath before I answer, for some reason lifting my head a couple of inches seemed to drain me.

"Everything hurts," I tell him honestly, my voice cracking as I close my eyes. I feel his hand gently squeeze mine again, and I notice the change in my bed as he sits himself down.

"I know Gabs, I'm going to go get the doctor, okay? Maybe he can give you something for the pain." Just as soon as he sat down, he stands right back up and kisses my hand before walking out of the room. I open my eyes again, the fluorescent light causing me to squint. I look over my body, wondering how badly the explosion damaged me. My left arm was in a full cast, I had a couple of stitches on my other arm, and I could also feel stitches on my chin. I look around the room with my eyes, not daring to move my neck again. There was a water bottle next to the chair Antonio must have sat in, and his leather jacket hung over the foot of my bed. It seemed odd that only Antonio was here, and not Matt. Surely he would have come and visited me, right?

Unless he was also caught in the explosion, just like I had feared initially. I feel my eyes start to water at the possibility, and I turn my eyes towards the door, waiting for Antonio to come back and give me the news about Matt. Whether the news was good or bad, I had to know.

But instead of Antonio coming through the door, in walks Kelly and Shay. Shay's eyes look irritated and red, while Kelly looks as if he just came back from war. Once Shay sees me, she jogs over to me and hugs me tight, and if I didn't like the comfort as much as I did, I would have told her to step back because her firm hold was causing me more pain.

"I was so worried about you girl, don't you ever do that to me again," she says, rubbing my back as she buries her head into my shoulder. Instead of responding, I feel myself start to cry. The day's events are replaying in my mind and I can't help but let it all out, every ounce of emotion that had been bottled up since I opened my eyes. I remember the screams when the first bomb went off, I remember the blood caked onto the cement, I remember Eric's cries as I tried to stop the bleeding in his leg, and I remember landing onto the pavement the second time a bomb went off.

Shay whispers soothing words into my ear as Kelly sits on the edge of my bed, rubbing my leg for assurance. I cling onto Shay and wet her shirt with my tears, feeling bad for doing so instantly. I do my best to try and compose myself, taking deep breaths as I wipe away my tears.

"We're going to get through this, okay Gabs?" Shay tells me, meeting my eyes with hers. I don't know if it was the determination in her eyes or the sincerity in her voice, but I find myself believing her and nodding in agreement. But now I had to find out how Matt was, even if the answer killed me. I just had to know.

"How's Matt?" I ask, glancing at Kelly and then back at Shay. My voice cracks again, and when Shay and Severide share an uneasy gaze, I feel like I'm going to break down again. "Tell me," I urge, trying to prepare myself for the worst.

"Casey hit his head again," Kelly begins, swallowing nervously. "He had another brain bleed, but it was too small to perform surgery on, so they put him on some medicine and the doctors are practically hovering over him. But uh, he never woke up after he hit his head, so um, he's in...he's in a coma."

"What?" I respond incredulously, covering my mouth with my good hand as more tears threaten to fall. "Does he have any brain activity at all?"

"Yeah, his brain has activity...he's just in a coma. They don't know when he'll wake up," Kelly answers, his own eyes filling with tears as he glances at Shay quickly before looking down.

Shay wraps her arms around me again and I gratefully accept her embrace, feeling like my world went from color to black and white in just a matter of seconds. As a medical professional who took some classes at med school, I know that it's never guaranteed that a patient eventually wakes up from a coma. As each day passes...their chances of waking up decrease, until the doctors have no other choice than to end their life completely.

The reality of the situation buries me completely, and I begin to sob into Shay for the second time.

"I'll leave you two alone," Kelly murmurs, patting my leg once more before standing and walking out of the room, sniffing back his emotions.

"He's going to wake up, Gabs, you have to know that," Shay soothes, rubbing my back. "You have to be strong, for him. Once he wakes up he's going to need you." I allow myself to nod, ignoring the small degree of pain it causes me. I don't know what it is about Shay's words, maybe it's her soft voice or the fact she's always right, but I believe her.

I regain composure once again, wiping at my tears. "Thank you," I tell her sincerely, nodding a little.

"You know I'm always here for you," She answers, offering me a small smile. I nod, trying my best to form a smile, but knowing it was a fail.

Two sets of footsteps then come into the room, and I look over at the doorway to see Antonio reenter the room with a doctor right behind him. "I'll be back in a few minutes," Shay says, gently squeezing my hand before leaving the room.

"Hello, Miss Dawson, I'm Doctor Bateman and I'll be in charge of your health and recovery for the next several months," The doctor says, giving me a friendly smile. "Let's start off with your pain. On a scale from one to ten, where is your pain?"

"An eleven," I say, sighing heavily. He nods, writing it down in his notes.

"That's not surprising, do you mind telling me where your pain is located?"

"My head is pounding like crazy, if I move my neck I get a sharp pain, and my arm is killing me." I tell him as Antonio gives the doctor a worried glance.

"I can give you a neck brace, that might help with the pain there. Your neck has a sprained joint, torn muscle, and a bulging disc. None of them are serious injuries, but they can quickly become serious if you don't let them heal properly. I'll bring a physical therapist by tomorrow so you can start discussing your road to recovery with him. He'll also work on your arm, where we had to operate on to fix your nerves. I understand you're a medical professional?"

I nod and wait for him to continue.

"Then you should know what a brachial plexus injury is, yes?" He asks, and I nod again, swallowing nervously. I knew how bad those could be, I've responded to a dozen motorcycle crashes where the rider had suffered the same injury. "Perfect, then I won't have to explain that to you. But tomorrow when the physical therapist comes, he'll have to take off that cast and find out what you can move in that arm, okay?" For the third time, I nod. He nods back and smiles widely, which annoys me. How could somebody be so happy in a situation like this? I understand that he's a doctor, but is he not at all affected by what happened earlier?

"And with your head," he continues, glancing down at his notes before meeting my eyes again. "We diagnosed you with a moderate concussion, so you'll have to take it easy for about a week or two, which shouldn't be a problem because of your other injuries. I'll turn off the lights when I leave so it doesn't bother your head."

"Thank you, doc," Antonio says, sighing softly as he continues to look me over worriedly.

"No problem," he answers, his bright smile returning, making me clench my right fist. "Any questions?" He asks, looking at the both of us now.

I had a bunch of questions. I wanted to know when I'd recover, if my arm will ever be completely operable again, and on the top of my list, if Matt would ever wake up. But I didn't have the energy to ask him, mostly because I didn't think I'd be ready if he gave me an answer I didn't want to hear.

"Nope," I tell him, and Antonio shakes his head in agreement.

"Alright, I'll have a nurse come in here with a neck brace and some pain meds, then I'll be back tomorrow morning to see how you're feeling." The doctor answers, giving us another one of his _fantastic_ smiles before leaving the room.

Antonio sits on the edge of my bed again, taking my hand. "You really scared me, Gabs," he says, letting out a large sigh.

I shake my head and close my eyes, remembering how quickly everything changed a few hours ago...or several hours ago...I have no idea. "One minute Matt and I were happy and getting ready for the race, and then in a split second everything changed." I tell him, opening my eyes again and letting a tear roll down my cheek. He says nothing, only kisses my forehead and squeezes my hand.

"I know Gabs...but we're going to find whoever did this, alright?" He assures me, his eyes looking at mine with determination. I nod, knowing he was a good cop surrounded by a good team, perfectly capable of tracking down the sick person who set the bombs.

"So it was an attack then, it wasn't just some freak accident." It was more of a statement than a question, because I already knew the answer. I had suspected it from the very beginning, but I was never sure of it until now. He nods, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"I'm not going to quit until I find the guy responsible, mark my words. Nobody is going to get away with hurting my baby sister." He squeezes my hand again for reassurance, and I nod.

"I know," I tell him, and he gives me the briefest of smiles before turning his head towards Boden, who stood at the door patiently. "I'm going to get back to work," Antonio says, looking back at me. "I'll be back a little later, alright?"

"Okay," I say, nodding a little. He kisses my forehead again before walking out, sharing a nod with Boden.

"Hey Chief," I say as Boden walks towards me, his face showing obvious signs of tiredness. He sits down in the chair next to my bed and folds his hand on the top of my sheets.

"How are you feeling, Dawson?" He asks, giving me a concerned expression.

"Shitty," I answer simply, and he manages a short chuckle at my response. But only a second later, his face turns back to a frown and looks at me seriously.

"We're going to get through this," He tells me, and I nod.

"I know. Chicago will bounce back." He nods, and smiles slightly at my positivity.

"Yes, she certainly will," He murmurs, looking at his hands before back at me.

"You will get through this, too. I believe in you." He gives me an honest look, and I give him a small smile, grateful for his hope.

"I'm more concerned about Matt," I admit after a few seconds, my smile instantly fading. Tears fall from the corner of my eyes, and Chief nods, understanding.

"You know I can't promise you anything, Gabriela." He says quietly, his expression soft and full of solemn. "But I do know that Matthew is strong and capable of waking up from this. He has something to fight for." I purse my lips and close my eyes, knowing I was about to cry again, something I'd rather not do in front of Boden.

"Don't bottle up your emotions, not like you did after Jones died. Talk to me, Gabby." Boden urges softly, sighing quietly. I want to respond, I want to talk to him, but deep down I know I should be talking to Matt, he's the one I opened up to about Jones' death, and I want nothing other than to have his arms wrapped around me.

I open my eyes and force myself to look at Boden, knowing I need to tell him how I'm feeling. "When the first bomb went off, and Matt and I saw all those victims, I wanted to go help everybody. But Matt wanted to hang back until we knew it was safe," I tell him, taking a deep breath before I continue. "I - I just ignored him and ran straight into the chaos. If I had just listened to him and hung back, he would be perfectly fine."

"No, don't you dare blame yourself for what happened to him. You had no control over what happened, you had no idea things would play out the way they did." He says, his voice rising slightly to emphasize his point.

"Yeah but Matt knew what might've happened, and he was right. I should have just listened to him." I shake my head and wipe at the tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Gabriela, listen to me. What happened to him was not your fault. It's not like you to hang back, and he knows that as well as I do. That's what makes you such an amazing paramedic, and that's why you're going to be such a kick-ass firefighter once you're one-hundred percent again. And Matt is going to be right by your side the whole time, he loves you no matter what and if he were sitting here instead of me right now, he'd tell you to stop fretting about your decision and to focus on your recovery. Am I right?"

"You're right," I nod, my voice cracking. Of course he was right. Boden was always right, always hopeful and always positive. That's what made him such a great Chief and also a great friend.

He softly pats my hand in assurance, smiling slightly at me. "You're strong, Matt's strong, the two of you will get through this. You have a big family at fifty-one who will support you every step of the way."

**A/N: Now that the crossover has aired (it was great by the way), should I continue this story? Let me know in your reviews! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry this update took so long! I've been studying for finals and what not, so hopefully once that's over, I'll be able to update more regularly. Let me know what you think of this chapter and thank you for all of the positive responses I've been getting. :)**

**Also, flashbacks are italicized. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Lakeshore, Kelly's POV:**

I slouch further into my chair, sighing deeply as I rest the back of my head against the wall. Boden was still talking to Dawson, so both Shay and I decided to stay in the waiting room until he was done.

Shay gently squeezes my shoulder, offering me a tired smile. I return one before closing my eyes, letting out another sigh. I had a pounding headache..probably from all the stress and commotion that went on today. But I knew I couldn't complain about it, since Matt had it much worse right now.

My worries for my friend occupied my mind, and I sent up a silent prayer on his behalf. I just didn't understand it...this wasn't supposed to happen to anybody. Especially Casey. Casey was the guy who was always going to be around, no matter what. He's never done anything wrong. The guy has been to hell and back more than once and he deserved a break. He deserved something good to happen in his life. Of course there was Gabby, who he was extremely happy with, but he was ready to go to the next step with her...and now he may not get the chance.

"_Oh c'mon Chicago, you can do better than that!," I yell at the TV angrily, shaking my head and sipping my beer. The Blackhawks were just scored on. Again. For the third time in fifteen minutes. It wasn't looking good, so I decide to turn off the TV before I get even angrier. I stand up just as Shay opens the door and comes back into the apartment, smiling and shaking her head blissfully._

"_What's got you in a good mood?," I ask, smiling at her as I lean against the kitchen counter. _

"_Do I need a reason to be happy?," She replies, her smile growing as she tosses her coat on the couch and walks towards the fridge to fetch a beer. _

"_Yes," I answer matter-of-factly, chuckling a little. "Now tell me, who'd you meet while you were out?"_

"_It's not like that," she tells me, opening her beer as she stands on the opposite side of the counter, facing me. _

"_Then what happened, Shay?," I ask, watching as her smile stays unmoving. She shakes her head again and sips her beer, and I can't help but laugh at her._

"_C'mon Shay, out with it!," I urge, sitting down on the stool. She studies me, and I study her back, waiting for an answer._

"_You can't tell anybody, got it?"_

"_I got it," I promise, nodding as I smile. _

"_Casey called and told me to meet him at Jared's, that's why I was gone" she tells me, putting her beer on the counter and smiling excitedly at me. I look at her confused, shrugging._

"_Who's Jared?"_

"_No Kelly," she chuckles, shaking her head. "The jewelry store." My eyes widen, what she was trying to say finally clicking in my head. "Casey's going to propose to Dawson," she continued, confirming what I was thinking. "But you can't say anything to anybody, and I mean that, alright?"_

_I grin happily, shaking my head. "I won't say anything," I assure her once again. "But I'm happy for 'em. They both deserve this, I just didn't expect it so soon."_

"_Me either," she agrees, smiling. "I mean usually I'd be a little...wary, I guess, but with those two it seems right. It was gonna happen sooner or later, so I'm happy for them. I really am."_

"_Me too," I nod, still smiling. "Cheers to that, I guess." I lift my beer bottle up and she does the same, both of us relieved that our friends finally found their way to each other. _

"_Cheers."_

The memory sticks in my brain, and feels so far away after the day we had. But it only happened a week ago...a week that seemed as if it was in a different century. I shake my head and lean forward in my chair, my elbows resting on my knees as I rub my face with my hands.

"I don't get it," Cruz suddenly states softly from the other side of the room, pulling me and everybody else out of our thoughts.

"What don't you get?," Mills asks him, lifting his head slightly.

"I don't get how somebody can wake up one day and decide to kill and injure thousands of people," Cruz says, shaking his head. "It just ain't right, guys. I mean, think of all the people that bastard killed. So many innocent lives were lost today, and for what? Just so some dirtbag can get his point across? It's bullshit."

"Nothin' we can do about it, Cruz," Herrmann tells him tiredly from the wall he was still leaning on. "Yeah it sucks, but all we can do now is bounce back from it and let the police do their work."

Herrmann spoke the truth, most of the times he does, and the room fell back into an exhausted silence. Each of us went back to our own thoughts...whether they were about Dawson, Casey, Eric, the innocent lives that were lost today, or about the bastard who was the mastermind behind all of this chaotic brutality.

Boden walks back into the room, so instantly Shay stands up, me following suit. Boden puts his hand up to stop us from walking out from the waiting room, shaking his head.

"She just fell back asleep, let her rest," he tells us softly, and both Shay and I nod, returning back to our seats.

"How is she, Chief?," Clarke asks, speaking for the first time in ages, causing me to look over at him in surprise.

"Physically, she's exhausted and extremely sore. Emotionally...she's lost, confused, hurting...pick one," he informs us drowsily, sitting down in his seat next to mine. A few of the guys let out a sad sigh, looking down at the floor in tired defeat.

I go back to burying my head in my hands, trying my hardest not to break in front of my men, the Chief, or even Casey's guys. But I felt beat. My best friend may never open his eyes again. My city was attacked. Everything was going wrong today. The only good thing that has come out of today is the fact that Gabby is okay and we ended up pulling multiple people from the rubble.

"Family of Matthew Casey?," A doctor suddenly asks, walking into the waiting room with a clipboard in hand.

"That's us," I nod, standing up from my seat. I swallow nervously as the doctor looks at his notes, and Shay gently puts a hand on my arm as the other guys also stand up.

"Mr. Casey's brain bleed has shrunk, which we are very happy with. You may visit him now, but only three at a time," he tells us, and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

"So do you know when he's going to wake up?," I ask, looking at him hopefully.

"Unfortunately, we do not. But the fact that his bleed shrunk is a good sign and increases his chances of waking up," he answers, giving us a small smile.

I nod a little, not exactly liking his answer, but knowing it gave all of us more hope for the future. "And when he wakes up, how will he be?"

"We don't know for sure. If he wakes up, we'll go from there. But for now, we have to take things slowly."

"What room is he in?," Boden asks him, his husky voice sounding exhausted and worn out.

"127," the old doctor tells him, offering another small smile. "Any more questions?"

"No, thank you doctor," Boden says, shaking his head a little as the doctor turns to leave. "You two, come with me to see him first, then we'll let everybody else see him," he says, turning to Shay and I. We nod, and follow him down the hallway to Matt's room. Boden stops in front of the door, taking a deep breath and composing himself before he visits the young Lieutenant.

When he finally walks in, he heads over to Casey's right side of the bed, as Shay and I stand at the left side.

Casey was hooked up to a lot of wires after his epidural hematoma. Dozens. But compared to right now, that was nothing. There were wires and tubes attached to parts of his body that I didn't even know you could monitor. The sight was depressing.

As I continue to study my best friend, broken and in a deep sleep, I feel my eyes start to well up with tears. I've never seen Matt so pale or so limp before. I would've thought he was dead if it wasn't for the steady beeping of his monitor and the soft rise and fall of his chest.

The bed sheet stopped at his stomach, but the rest of his body was exposed. And from what I could see, he was covered in bruises, both minor and severe abrasions, and he even had a few small burns from the heat of the explosion.

I feel Shay's hand brush my back, trying to assure me that somehow Matt would be alright, but her eyes also pooled with tears. Her hand moved from my back to Matt's hand, and I watch as she gently squeezes it. As she does, more tears surface in her eyes, and a few escape and roll down her cheek. Boden reaches across the length of the bed and gently squeezes her shoulder, his voice cracking as he speaks.

"Casey is a fighter, we all know that. He's going to pull through, just like he always does. None of us should doubt that, and none of the guys in the waiting room should feel any less confident in his recovery," he says, also looking at me. Shay and I nod, and my eyes fall back onto Matt.

Just a day ago, he was at Molly's with his arm wrapped around Dawson's shoulder and laughing at some dumb joke Herrmann made about Otis' video games. Now he was in a hospital bed, fighting for his life for the second time within six months.

A tear falls down my face and I mentally kick myself for getting emotional, especially in front of Boden. If Matt could talk right now, I'm sure he would say 'man up' and 'grow a set already, Kelly'.

I place my hand on his shoulder, being careful of his wires and tubes. "You gotta wake up man, alright? I gotta have someone besides Shay and Boden keep me in line when I'm being an idiot. And damn, nobody else besides you will sit through an entire Blackhawks or Cubs game with me and keep me from breaking the television." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shay smile a little, but only for a split second. "Just...wake up man, okay?," I continue, doing my best to keep my voice from cracking. "I ain't letting you go out like this. Not in a million years."

I swallow, taking another look at my best friend before turning and walking out of the room. I couldn't stand there any longer and watch Matt remain limp and not say anything to me in reply.

I head into the closest elevator and wait to be carried down to the ground floor, taking my phone out of my pocket. Once the doors open, I walk out of the hospital and take a deep breath, ignoring the cold wind chill against my skin. I dial Antonio's number and hold my phone up to my ear, waiting for him to answer.

"Dawson," he greets.

"Hey, it's Severide," I tell him, unable to get another word out before he speaks again.

"Kelly, did Gabby get worse or something?" He asks worriedly, and I shake my head, even though he couldn't see the action.

"No, she's all good, she's sleeping. I called about two other things, actually," I tell him, sitting down on a nearby bench.

"Okay, what's up?," he wonders after breathing a small sigh of relief.

"Well, we got more news on Casey. The bleed in his brain shrunk, but they still don't know if or when he'll wake up," I say, slouching into the bench as I sigh a little. "All the doctor said about it was that it's good news and increases his chances of waking up."

"Hey man, that's better than bad news, right?"

"Yeah, but it's still not the news I wanted to hear," I murmur, shaking my head.

"He'll wake up, Kelly. I've only known him for about a year but he's still one of the most strongest and most determined guys I've ever met. Nothing breaks that guy."

I swallow and nod my head, wanting to believe that Matt would for sure wake up. But nothing was guaranteed...and that's what tore me up, that's what caused me to believe otherwise.

"You called about another thing?" He wonders after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah, I need to know how close you are to catching the son of a bitch who did this," I say, sitting up now and adding a bit more edge to my voice.

"I'm not allowed to share our progress with you, but let's just say we gotta good lead that we're confident in," He says boldly, and I nod, managing a small victorious smile.

"That's what I needed to hear right now. You have no idea. Thanks man, and call me if anything happens, alright? I'll do the same."

"Sounds good Severide, make sure you keep an eye on Gabby for me. I'll be there to see her as soon as we catch this asshole," he replies, and I stand up, walking towards the hospital entrance again.

"You got it man, talk to you later." I hang up my phone and put it back in my pocket, relieved that Antonio seemed to have things under control on the police end of things.

But now, we needed Matt to pull through. And I would do anything to make sure that happens.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I appreciate all of the follows and favorites I'm getting, but I would love it if more of you guys reviewed! :) It really fuels me to put the next chapter up quickly. But, I'm not going to force any of you, us writers just like to get reviews. I hope you guys like this chapter, and I'm already working on the next one.**

**Disclaimer: I still own notta.**

**Antonio's POV:**

Voight was going well over the speed limit. He was maneuvering through traffic like a maniac and honking the horn at people who didn't get out of his way fast enough. Normally, I'd calm him down and tell him we'll get there when we'll get there - a few minutes wouldn't make a difference. But now, I don't think I would mind if he caused a car accident just so we could catch the son of a bitch who attacked our city and my sister.

But this wasn't the first lead we had today. A couple of hours ago while Sumner was reviewing the tapes, she thought she found a guy who looked suspicious. We had Jin run facial recognition, and it turned out that the man Sumner saw on the tape was one of the first people pronounced dead. He was a husband, a father of two children, and a cancer survivor. There was no way he could have blown up the hospital. He just had no motive to do so.

Not long after that, Ruzek was interviewing one of the bystanders who witnessed the bombing. She told him that she spotted a man in a dark hoodie, black winter hat, and couldn't keep his hands out of his pockets or stop fidgeting around. She was able to sketch his face, and Ruzek and Olinsky somehow managed to track the guy down, but it turned out he was just a cold man cheering on his son during the race.

And then twenty minutes ago, we caught our next big lead. This time, we were almost positive it was for real. Sumner had been looking at more tapes, when she saw a man only a street away from the hospital outside a local convenience store. He delivered a call at the time of the first bombing, and only looked up for a half second when the explosion occurred. He went back inside the store for a couple of minutes, then another man came out and delivered a call at the time of the second bombing.

It doesn't get any more suspicious than that.

So we loaded our guns, put on our vests, and left the district in search of that convenience store. Ruzek and Olinsky, who were still interviewing witnesses at the hospital, were also on their way.

As Voight continued to break several traffic laws, even with his lights on, I tapped my foot on the bottom of the car and sighed heavily. It was a long day, despite all of the chaos.

We chased several leads that all led to nothing, I waited the whole day for any news on Gabby or Matt, and now we were headed to a place that could be nothing but a disaster waiting to happen.

"Ruzek, Olinsky, what's your location?," Voight asked through the radio, keeping one hand on the wheel.

"About one minute out from our destination boss," Olinsky immediately replied.

"Don't do nothin' until we get there, got it?"

"Copy that," Olinsky answers, and Voight steps on the gas even harder, earning more road rage from other drivers. I look in our rear-view mirror to see Jay and Erin doing the same, with Sumner following them close behind.

My phone rings, and I dig it out of my pocket, getting a curious glance from Voight.

"Hello?" I answer, putting the phone up to my ear.

"Hey, it's Severide." I take a deep breath, hoping for some good news but after the day I've had, I expected the worse. And that's what I got. "I've got some news on Matt…" he trails off, and I close my eyes, dreading what was to come. By the sound of his voice, it couldn't be good. "A couple of minutes ago Herrmann and Clarke were visiting him...and he started to seize. Turns out the bleed in his brain came back and bigger than before. He's getting prepped for surgery now." I hear him cough, trying to keep his emotions hidden. "They told me..well uh, I guess technically they told Chief, that Matt has a twenty percent chance of surviving this surgery."

I swallow, hearing Voight ask me something, but not really comprehending anything. Casey had an eighty percent chance of dying. Today. Right now. Yeah, I had only known the guy for about two years...but I looked at him as if he was my brother. He made Gabby the happiest I have ever seen her, and the way Diego and Eva light up in front of him is something special. I lost Jules a few months ago, almost lost Diego in that same week, and now Matt is fighting for his life in some cold room with Gabby just down the hallway.

None of this was fair. The bombings, the deaths, the innocent lives on the line because of some asshole…

"You there?" Severide asks, and I open my eyes again to see Voight looking at me, almost worriedly.

"When will he get out of surgery?" I ask calmly, trying to have hope still, even after the day we've had.

"Dunno," Severide sighs. "If everything goes as planned, an hour. If something happens before that…"

"You don't need to finish," I assure him, sighing. "Just tell me when you hear something, alright? Have you gotten any other news?"

He takes a deep breath, and once again, I'm expecting the worse. "Remember Eric Whaley?"

"Uh, yeah, he used to work with you guys, right?" I wonder, trying to jog back my memory.

"Yeah," Severide says softly, his voice cracking. "He um, he was a Lieutenant of Squad Six. The hospital caved in on his crew while they were pulling out people from the rubble. Two of his guys died, the rest in critical condition. He had to undergo emergency surgery. He didn't survive."

**Voight's POV:**

For the second time while he was on the phone, Antonio's eyes close and he sighs heavily in defeat.

"What the hell is goin' on Antonio?" I ask, looking over at him worriedly. He ignores me again, and answers whoever he's talking to.

"Damn...that ain't right man," he says, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but I promise you, we got a lead and we are going to get the son of a bitch who did this to Eric, to Matt, to Gabby, and to everybody else. Mark my words."

There was a long pause as the other person replied, and I try to focus on Antonio's reactions while I zig-zag through traffic.

"I know man...just hang in there, alright? Matt is strong, he's been through something like this before, and Eric is at peace now, he doesn't have to suffer through his injuries."

Whoever Eric was, I gathered, was probably dead now, and something bad happened to Casey..again.

I still don't know what to think about the great Lieutenant Matthew Casey. I've heard it from everyone, and I mean everyone, that he's a great guy and worth getting to know. Lindsay told me a few months ago that he saved Kelly Severide's life during the blackout, and a couple months before that, Antonio informed me that he was clinging to life after saving a baby from a fire. Jay has even said he's a good guy, despite the fact that he's dating Jay's ex-girlfriend.

But if any of them think that I'm going to forget what he did to Justin and I a year and a half ago, they're wrong. If Casey had retracted his statement, I wouldn't have gone after him, and I wouldn't have Internal Affairs on my ass every second of every day.

Antonio continues to promise the person on the phone things that he really shouldn't be promising, and soon hangs up. I glance over at him as he stares at his phone, gripping the sides of it until his knuckles turn white. I'm about to say something to him when he throws the mobile device at the windshield, no doubt leaving a crack or two, or probably much more in his screen.

"You wanna talk about it?" I ask hesitantly, but get a shake of his head in response. "Fair enough," I mumble, turning my eyes back to the road.

Almost two minutes later, we arrive with the rest of the unit (besides Jin) in tow. We park far enough down the street so nobody in the store would grow suspicious, and meet Olinsky and Ruzek waiting for us. I climb out of the car as Antonio does the same, both of us unholstering our guns.

"Alright," I say once everybody is gathered up. "Ruzek, Olinsky, and Halstead, take the back. Make sure you detect for a bomb before you break in. Dawson, you're with me in the front. And Sumner and Lindsay, cover the alley way in case they escape that way before we can get to 'em."

"Got it," Ruzek replies, nodding as Olinsky and Antonio grab bomb-detecting tools.

"Alright, let's go," I say, heading towards the store and ready to kick some serious ass.

**Lakeshore, Boden's POV:**

The room was once again covered in silence. Not that it ever was buzzing with excitement, but for awhile there, we had a steady string of conversations going.

But with the news of Eric's death, Casey's surgery, and no luck finding the people responsible for the explosions, everybody's hope was drained once again.

"So uh, what exactly happened in there?" Cruz asks, breaking the silence as he looks over at Clarke and Herrmann. Herrmann shrugs, keeping his eyes trained on the ground as Clarke lets out a sigh.

"He was laying still one second," Clarke answers, looking up at Cruz and everybody else. "And then the next second, his body was seizing and his machines were having a meltdown."

I wanted to find something to say...anything to lift their spirits somehow, but I had no idea what kind of words could possibly make this situation better. We could all hear Renee Whaley's cries from down the hallway, along with the rest of the Whaley family. I swallow and look down, at the same time Severide comes back in from his talk with Antonio.

We all look at him, waiting for something, anything.

"They're chasing a big lead right now," he says, nodding. "They're really confident in it."

I nod, glad for the good news. I look over at Shay, who was sitting next to Rafferty currently. "Leslie," I say, and she looks up instantly. I barely ever used her first name, even off the job. "Gabby is gonna need somebody when she wakes up again, why don't you go and sit with her?"

She nods and stands up, wiping her eyes as she straightens out her paramedic jacket. "Should I tell her about Matt?" She asks, and I slowly shake my head in response.

"Wait until we know how he makes out," I say, and she nods before walking toward Gabby's room.

"Today has been one of the roughest days of any of our careers, if not the roughest," I say, standing in front of everybody. "But we need to realize there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We may have lost Eric Whaley today, and yes, Casey is also not in the greatest of shape, but Dawson is going to be alright. All of us, here in this room, we are all alright and we have to be thankful for that. We can not only focus on everything negative. So convert every death wish you have for the people who did this into prayers for Casey and his family and Eric Whaley's family."

They slowly all nod, and I breathe a sigh of relief, glad I said something that finally changed their way of thinking a bit. Then, suddenly, Herrmann starts to laugh in his chair.

"What's so funny Herrmann?," Mouch asks, raising his eyebrows at his colleague and lifelong friend.

"I was just thinkin' about that time when Casey put a fake snake in one of the showers and told Mills to go clean 'em. Never heard a grown man scream the way Mills did that day," Herrmann reminisces, smiling as he chuckles. Some of the other guys join in on the laugh, including me.

"That was what, my first week with you guys?" Mills wonders, smiling. "Seems like it was just a week ago."

"Time flies by when you're with us, Millsy, don't you know that by now?" Cruz says, smiling at him.

"Oh, I know it, believe me." He answers, chuckling a little. "I won't ever forget the time that Mouch dropped gallons and gallons of water on those Canadians."

Mouch's face turns red and he scowls at Otis, who laughs at the memory. I also laugh, once upset by the incident, but looking back on it now, it was one of the best pranks the house has seen.

"You did what, Mouch?," Clarke laughs, shaking his head in disbelief. Otis starts telling Clarke and Rafferty about the prank he had set up over a year and a half ago, barely able to contain his laughter as he did so.

"One of those Canadians gave Casey the idea to bring Mills to see Sophie," Cruz remembers, his grin turning into a small smile.

"Yeah, I remember that," Mills says, nodding. "Without that visit to Sophie, I don't think I'd be here right now, with you guys."

"Alright, we don't need another speech about you being a firefighter," Herrmann jokes, trying to lighten the mood again as a few guys chuckle in response.

But the room grows silent again, all of our thoughts going back to Matt and Eric and remembering why we were here in the first place.

**Antonio's POV:**

I hold the bomb detection tool up the front door of the store, trying to be as quiet as possible. The small piece of technology beeps in response and produces a green light, letting us know that the building is clear for entry, at this side at least.

"Alright," I tell Voight, sighing a little. "The machine says it's clear, but no guarantees." I put the detection device back in my pocket and grab a good hold on my gun, looking at Voight for a go ahead.

"Let's go," He says, nodding. I take a deep breath and kick open the door, instantly being met by a large explosion and total darkness.

**Ruzek's POV:**

"Whoa!" I shout, hearing a loud blast from the front side of the building. The impact of the blow shatters the back windows and suddenly I'm flying through the air, being met with the hard cement soon after. I groan in agony as I try to get up, but because of the pain in my back, I'm unable to. Instead I turn to my side, seeing Olinsky's limp body not too far away.

"Alvin!," I yell, barely able to make out his body through the smoke and dust. He doesn't reply, he just lays there, limp, and I pray to the heavens above that he's just unconscious.

I turn on my other side, hoping that I'd find Jay or maybe even Sumner or Erin. All I'm able to make out is more smoke and dust, making me squint. That's when I notice the throbbing in my head, and I reach my hand up to my temple, immediately feeling blood. I sigh heavily and lay on my back again, the pain becoming more intense.

**Erin's POV:**

Everything hurt. I've been in pain in my life before, that was for damn sure, but this? This was a whole new kind of pain. I wasn't even sure if it should be classified as pain, something more like "torture" and "hell" sounded better. "Torturous hell" seemed to do it justice. Maybe. Probably not.

When the bomb went off (is that what it was?) Sumner and I were both blown backwards, our bodies crashing into the alley wall with an incredible amount of impact.

I groan as I try to lift myself up, but my body hurt too much. I could barely feel a damn thing except for the extreme agony.

I was flat on my stomach, surrounded by smoke so damn thick it seemed as if it was a wall. After being bounced around in between the alley like a rag doll, you would think I would get something in return, right?

I flip over on my back, screaming in pain as I do so. Damn, "torturous hell" definitely did not describe the agony I was feeling right now.

I turn my head to find Sumner a few feet away, slowly starting to blink her eyes. Alright, maybe I got something in return after all.

"Hey, Mia!," I yell to her, carefully rolling on my side as I clench my jaw in pain at the action.

She also rolls on her side to face me, squinting her eyes shut. Looks like I'm not the only one in pain. "What happened?," she groans, her eyes opening again.

"I'm guessing it was an explosion. This place was a trap," I tell her, sighing heavily. "Halstead!" I yell, hoping I'd get a response. I needed to make sure everybody was okay, over the last few months, all of these idiots have become my family. Of course, I've been close with Voight for years now, but I was oddly not too worried about him right now. He's always pulled through, no matter what. He'd never go out like this. "Dawson!" I yell again, my throat killing me with every syllable I sounded out.

"Erin!," somebody shouts back, and even though I wasn't totally coherent at the moment, the voice sounded a hell of a lot like Ruzek.

"Adam!" I answer, groaning out in pain as I angle my body towards the sound of his voice. "What can you see?"

"I can see Alvin!," he replies, his voice noticeably weak and hoarse. "He ain't movin' though! There's so much damn smoke I can barely see anything else!"

"Just hang in there, Adam!," I tell him. "I'm sure help is on its way!"

I get no answer. "Adam!" I shout again, louder this time. Nothing. "Dammit!" I yell, turning back towards Sumner. It was painfully obvious that she was losing consciousness.

"Hey, stay with me, Sumner!" I urge, crawling towards her. For the first time, I notice the blood coming out of her mouth and down her temple. I check her ears, seeing no sign of cerebrospinal fluid, which was a good thing. I check her pulse, finding it rapid and her skin cold and clammy.

Shock.

Shock was a problem all on its own, but it was also a symptom of heavy internal bleeding. I don't care if I've only known this woman for a few weeks, I was still worried for her and I didn't want her dyin' on me.

I didn't want anybody dyin' on me as a matter of fact.

**A/N: Yes, I know, cliffhanger, please do not kill me! This chapter mainly focused on the Intelligence Unit, because I felt like I wasn't giving them enough spotlight before. If you guys would prefer if I just focus it mainly on the Fire guys, just tell me so I know for the future. :)**


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